Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-04-17
re we.kne.. . Of ais strength.

The San Francisco Chronicle quotes
from a recent article in the Albany
Argus a paragraph extolling Presi-
dent Cleveland, and setting forth the
fact that his straightforward and pa
triotic administration of the govern
ment has given him strength with
the people that will go far to make
him the choice of the Democratic
marty for denomination. The Argus
states only the truth when 1t says
that President Cleveland has exhib-
tied the highest executive qualities IN
the administration of his great office.
His firmness, his industry, his SIN
pleness of purpose, his public FORE
sip hit, his keen perception of the
right, his devotion to principle, his
ins tinctive Americanism, his purity
and integrity, have all won to him
the good opinion of the people, re-
gardless of party prejudices. what
ever antagonism has been evoked is
that which arises from the unsuccess-
ful office-seekers of his own party ;
but these are mere drop in the
bucket OF public opinion. The coun-
try appreciates his worth, and If he
sh ould desire denomination, which
nothing he has so far done or
said indicates, he would be like
" to get it. 1t is dread
OF the possibility that Cleveland may
be the Democratic Standard-beareI
in 1888 which causes the Chronicle al
this unreasonable time to endeavol
to depreciate the services and under
rate the strength OF the President
Disappointed Democrats have in
weighed against him for not turning
Republicans out of Office and putting
his own partisans in. The Chronicle
however, has failed to read the
Cleveland administration in this
light. 1t denounces him for doing
the very thing that the disappointed
Democratic office-seekers inveigh
against him for not doing. 1t finds
that Cleveland has been disloyal to
the principle Of civil-service reform,
and has missed no opportunity to
supplant Republican officials with
Democrats. Il "There is no postoffice
30 SMALL" says. the Chronicle, "that
Secretary Vilas.has not found it and
assigned it to some good Democrat. :"
This is an unfortunate declaration for
the Chronicle. We need 60 no far
ther than Los Angeles to show that
it is not true, for a, Republican post
master still holds the fort here. What
ever may De urged against President
G leveland, it is certain that haste to
turn the Federal offices over to Dem
ocrats has not been q characteristic
merit of his administration. We be-
lieve that he would have. better con-
suited the interests of his party and
his own had he followed out the
policy OF the early Presidents and
placed Democrats in ali the respon-
sib le offices instead of continuing in
power men who are .inimical to his
administration and bound to do
everything they can to make it a
failure. Had he done this there
would have been less personal dis
satisfactionsin Democratic ranks than
now exists. His policy in this re-
spect has elected no gratitude from
those who have profted by it, and the
animadversions on his administra-
ton by Republicans will not be les
sened a whit by his viper-warming
process; and the Republican press,
instead OF giving him credit for his
leniency, will follow in the wake of
the Chro nicle and falsely denounce
him for carrying out to its fullest ex-
tent the Jacksonian policy that "to
the victors belong The spoils."